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Key message: We discussed the most recent efforts in wheat functional genomics to discover new genes and their deployment in breeding with special emphasis on advances in Asian countries. Wheat research community is making significant progress to bridge genotype-to-phenotype gap and then applying this knowledge in genetic improvement. The advances in genomics and phenomics have intrigued wheat researchers in Asia to make best use of this knowledge in gene and trait discovery. These advancements include, but not limited to, map-based gene cloning, translational genomics, gene mapping, association genetics, gene editing and genomic selection. We reviewed more than 57 homeologous genes discovered underpinning important traits and multiple strategies used for their discovery. Further, the complementary advancements in wheat phenomics and analytical approaches to understand the genetics of wheat adaptability, resilience to climate extremes and resistance to pest and diseases were discussed. The challenge to build a gold standard reference genome sequence of bread wheat is now achieved and several de novo reference sequences from the cultivars representing different gene pools will be available soon. New pan-genome sequencing resources of wheat will strengthen the foundation required for accelerated gene discovery and provide more opportunities to practice the knowledge-based breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Durum wheat is one of the most important crops, especially in the Mediterranean region. Insight into the genetic diversity of germplasm can improve the breeding program management in various traits. This study was done using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers to characterize the genetic distinctiveness and differentiation of tetraploid wheat landraces collected from nine European and Asian countries. A sum of 23,334 polymorphic SNPs was detected in 126 tetraploid wheat landraces in relation to the reference genome., Results: The number of identified SNPs was 11,613 and 11,721 in A and B genomes, respectively. The highest and lowest diversity was on 6B and 6 A chromosomes, respectively. Structure analysis classified the landraces into two distinct subpopulations (K = 2). Evaluating the principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and weighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages (WPGMA) clustering results demonstrated that landraces (99.2%) are categorized into one of the two chief subpopulations. Therefore, the grouping pattern did not clearly show the presence of a clear pattern of relationships between genetic diversity and their geographical derivation. Part of this result could be due to the historical exchange between different germplasms. Although the result did not separate landraces based on their region of origin, the landraces collected from Iran were classified into the same group and cluster. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) also confirmed the results of population structure. Finally, Durum wheat landraces in some countries, including Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and Afghanistan, were highly diverse, while others, including Iran and China, were low-diversity., Conclusion: The recent study concluded that the 126 tetraploid wheat genotypes and their GBS-SNP markers are very appropriate for quantitative trait loci (QTLs) mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The core collection comprises two distinct subpopulations. Subpopulation II genotypes are the most diverse genotypes, and if they possess desired traits, they may be used in future breeding programs. The degree of diversity in the landraces of countries can provide the ground for the improvement of new cultivars with international cooperation. linkage disequilibrium (LD) hotspot distribution across the genome was investigated, which provides useful information about the genomic regions that contain intriguing genes., (© 2023. The Author(s).)